If you ignore this #1 rule for scratch-off lottery tickets you could miss out on millions

In New York, Halina Jozwik (left), with presenter Yolanda Vega, thought she had won only $7,000, until later the real amount of $7 million was revealed   Photo: New York Lottery

An Australian mother happily found what she thought was a $10,000 Instant Scratch win.

Then she discovered the win was a $100,000 prize - when the outlet she purchased the ticket from told her the prize amount was too high for them to pay in-store.

She assumed she had only won a few thousand dollars. It never occurred that she had won a top prize, reported Australian lottery organization The Lott.

#1 RULE: Always get every scratch-off and lotto ticket checked by mobile app or store machine. It only takes a few seconds but the effort could be worth it.

And a recent shopper from Renmark in South Australia enjoyed more than just some fun wordplay with their $10 Jumbo Crosswords Instant Scratch.

Luxe Riches scratch-off game, Australia.

Luxe Riches scratch-off game, Australia.

After the winner finished scratching their Crosswords ticket, they counted the number of full words scratched off and thought they had only twelve.

It wasn’t until they claimed their prize at The Lott office that they realized they had thirteen words and won the top prize of $150,000.

Last year, a hardworking couple from Bellmere, Queensland, was left absolutely stunned when they discovered what they thought was a $750 winning Instant Scratch-It ticket, was in fact a $100,000 top prize.

The wife, who originally scratched the ticket, believed she had won $750. It wasn’t until her husband checked the ticket that he thought they had won $10,000.

It was much bigger than they both expected!

These mistakes are quite common in scratch-card winnings. They are always resolved when the winner gets their card checked by the lottery organization.

But it could be a problem if the player thinks there is no prize at all and throws the card away.

So let’s repeat it:

#1 RULE: Always get every scratch-off and lotto ticket checked by mobile app or store machine

ABOUT: The Lott

The Lott is the mark of trust that unites Australia's Official Lotteries by Tatts (Tattersall's Sweeps Pty Ltd), Tatts NT (Tatts NT Lotteries Pty Ltd), NSW Lotteries (NSW Lotteries Corporation Pty Ltd), Golden Casket (Golden Casket Lottery Corporation Limited) and SA Lotteries (Tatts Lotteries SA Pty Ltd) under one banner.

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